Providence uses hot shooting, balance for rare win over Syracuse

Curry led six players in double figures with 22 points as
Providence picked up a rare win against No. 15 Syracuse with
Wednesday's 100-94 victory.

Marshon Brooks scored 17 points off the bench and Geoff
McDermott added 15 and six rebounds for the Friars (14-6, 6-2
Big East), who beat the Orange at home for the first time since
February 7, 2004 - a span of three games.

Overall, the win was just Providence's sixth in 26 all-time
meetings with Syracuse at home as it got off to its best start
in league play since 2000-01.

The Friars shot 54 percent (36-of-67) from the field, including
10-of-26 on 3-pointers, in reaching 100 points for the third
time this season.

The infrequent win over the Orange may turn out to be a
much-needed one for the Friars, who are entering the teeth of
their Big East schedule, with matchups with No. 2 Connecticut,
No. 21 Villanova and West Virginia awaiting.

Providence will face the Huskies on Saturday, a surprisingly
favorable matchup as the Friars have won their last four road
games in the series.

Jonny Flynn had a career-high 35 points and Eric Devendorf added
27 for the Orange (17-5, 5-4), who lost for the fourth time in
their last five games.

"I told Jonny and Eric before the game that they were going to
have to be in the neighborhood of 25 to 30 apiece for us to have
a chance to win," Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim told The
Post-Standard.

"It was going to be a high-scoring game. Without Arinze
(Onuaku) or Andy (Rautins), we're not going to get very many
points from the other guys that are out there. They couldn't
have played any better than they played."

As expected, Flynn did not think too highly of his new career
best.

"All that doesn't mean nothing if you don't win," he told The
Post-Standard. "At the end of the day, people look at whether
you won the game or not."

After an entertaining first half that included a combined 88
points, Providence created its separation with an early 16-2
run, pulling ahead 63-51 on Randall Hanke's layup with 14:24 to
play.

A questionable foul started the burst for the Friars, as
Devendorf was called for an intentional one on a fast-break
layup attempt by Efejuku despite the fact that the Orange junior
clearly swiped at the ball.

Efejuku split the two free throws to tie the score at 48-48, and
McDermott was fouled on the ensuing possession, also going
1-of-2 from the stripe.

After Devendorf missed a 3-point attempt on the other end, Curry
alertly saw that the shot clock was winding down before burying
a desperation 30-foot heave that ignited the Friars' run.

To compound its poor luck after the pray by Curry, Syracuse's
Kristof Ongenaet committed an ill-advised inbounds pass that was
stolen by McDermott before fouling the Providence player as he
completed a layup.

McDermott, who finished 6-of-9 from the field with two steals,
completed the three-point play, giving the Friars a 55-48
advantage with 17:22 remaining.

With momentum clearly against them, the Orange continued to get
buried, as a turnover by Flynn was turned into a fast-break
layup by Curry that gave Providence a 57-48 lead - its biggest
at home this season at that point.

"We made five or six bad turnovers that were, I thought, the
difference in the game," Boeheim told The Post-Standard. "We
couldn't stop them and they couldn't stop us. It was a matter
really of looking at the game, just five or six real bad
transition turnovers."

That cushion would eventually balloon to 79-65 with 8:22 left
after Brooks completed the second of back-to-back 3-pointer with
Curry.

Syracuse did close within 89-84 on Devendorf's 3-pointer with
1:51 left but the shorthanded club could get no closer as
Providence converted 11-of-18 free throws down the stretch.

Flynn and Devendorf combined for 10-of-22 on 3-pointers and
handed out eight assists.

"I might feel differently after watching the game and dissecting
tape but I feel they just made some outstanding plays,"
Providence coach Keno Davis told the newspaper.

"They had some open shots, but for the most part they made some
great basketball plays."

The Orange were forced to open the game without two starters, as
junior guard Rautins was sidelined with a ankle injury and
junior center Onuaku came off the bench due to a bad left knee.
He finished with 15 ineffective minutes, failing to attempt a
shot and grabbing just one rebound.

"I think that hurt us a lot," Syracuse sophomore forward Rick
Jackson told the newspaper. "We've never played without them
two. We weren't sure if Arinze was going to play and we knew
(Rautins) wasn't going to play. We went in there and really
relied on Jonny (Rautins) and E (Onuaku) to score points for
us."

Jackson chipped in 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Orange, who
finished 51 percent (33-of-65) from the field and ended up with
a 33-32 edge on the boards.